90% fewer passengers are flying than last year because of coronavirus

Sunday

Transportation Security Administration airport checkpoint numbers show the number of airline passengers fell below 200,000 on Friday and Saturday as a result of the coronavirus.

Only 184,027 people passed through TSA checkpoints on Saturday, and 199,644 on Friday. On the same two days last year, 2.1 million and 2.5 million people respectively passed through TSA checkpoints.

Fewer than 2 million passengers a day have flown since March 9, and 1 million a day since March 17. That figure has stayed below 500,000 since March 22.

Airlines have sharply curtailed their schedules as coronavirus has swept the globe. Domestic carriers have cut their flights by 70% to 90%.

According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 124,000 Americans have tested positive for coronavirus as of Sunday, and nearly 2,200 have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The TSA said at least 50 officers have tested positive at airports across the country. The number is likely higher due to the lack of access to testing in many parts of the country.

On March 19, the U.S. State Department issued its highest warning, Level 4, on international travel, advising Americans to avoid travel overseas.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday advised residents of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut to avoid nonessential travel for 14 days. The region has the highest concentration of coronavirus cases in the nation.